Gabal El Uweinat

Mount Uwaynat or Gabal El Uweinat (Arabic: جبل العوينات Gabal El ʿUwaināt or Jabal al-ʿUwaināt, Arabic for 'Mountain of the springs') is a mountain range in the area of the Egyptian-Libyan-Sudanese tripoint. Because of thousands of prehistoric rock art sites, it is considered an important witness to the development of early pastoralism in the Sahara.[1]

Mount Uwaynat
جبل العوينات
Jabal al-ʿUwaināt or Gabal El ʿUwaināt
Mount Uwaynat on the border of Egypt, Libya and Sudan
Highest point
Elevation1,934 m (6,345 ft)
Coordinates21°55′N 25°01′E
Dimensions
Length30 km (19 mi)
Width25 km (16 mi)
Geography
Mount Uwaynat is located in Egypt
Mount Uwaynat
Location in Africa
Mount Uwaynat is located in Libya
Mount Uwaynat
Mount Uwaynat (Libya)
Mount Uwaynat is located in Sudan
Mount Uwaynat
Mount Uwaynat (Sudan)
Mount Uwaynat is located in Africa
Mount Uwaynat
Mount Uwaynat (Africa)
CountryEgypt, Libya, Sudan

Cultural significance

The area is notable for its prehistoric rock carvings, first reported by the Egyptian explorer Ahmed Pasha Hassanein—the discoverer of Uweinat, who in 1923 traversed the first 40 km of the mountain towards east, without reaching the end.[2] Engraved in sandstone, thousands of petroglyphs are visible, representing lions, giraffes, ostriches, gazelles, cows and little human figures. According to a technical report of UNESCO, "Thousands of rock art sites of different styles and themes are distributed all over the area, witnessing to the development of early pastoralism in Africa and exchanges among different ethnic groups across the Sahara."[1]

Geography

Mount Uwaynat lies about 40 km S-SE of Jabal Arkanu.[2] The main spring called Ain Dua lies at the foot of the mountain, on the Libyan side. The western foot (located at 21°52′29″N 24°54′16″E according to Hassanein) is 618 m high, and overcast with giant boulders fallen because of erosion. In general, the western slope constitutes an oasis, with wells, bushes and grass.[2]

The western part of the massif consists of intrusive granite, arranged in a ring shape of some 25 km diameter, ending in three valleys (wadis) towards the West, named Karkur Hamid, Karkur Idriss and Karkur Ibrahim. Its eastern part consists of sandstone, ending in Karkur Talh. In Karkur Murr, there is a permanent oasis (Guelta), called Ain El Brins (Bir Murr).

In the sandstone part, four plateaus emerge from the level of the surrounding desert: the Hassanein plateau, connected to an unnamed plateau through a narrow neck, the Italia plateau and another unnamed plateau. The highest point of Uweinat is on top of the Italia plateau. There are two cairns on the top, the first was erected by R.A. Bagnold and the second by Captain Marchesi, both in the 1930s.[3]

Topographic map of Djebel Uweinat

Exploration

Sources
  • Bertarelli, L.V. (1929). Guida d'Italia, Vol. XVII (in Italian). Milano: Consociazione Turistica Italiana.

References
  1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2004-06-04). "Jebel Ouenat technical report". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  2. Bertarelli (1929), p. 515.
  3. Bertarelli (1929), p. 516.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.